O’Brien’s Star shining brightly

ON a night when Johnny Murtagh picked up a one-day ban for his handling of Alanza in the opening fillies race, Aidan O’Brien completed a two-year-old double with Devotion and Tenth Star at Leopardstown last night.

The Stewards enquired into the running and riding of the John Oxx-trained, Murtagh-ridden Alanza, which came from well off the pace and, running on in eye-catching style, threatened to edge past longtime leader Moonlit Garden for second place in the closing stages.

Murtagh, however, didn’t ride the filly out in the last fifty yards, which resulted in Moonlit Garden holding second place by a half-length. In the subsequent enquiry, Murtagh explained that Alanza, off the track since last September, was unsuited by the lack of pace and hit a flat spot when the tempo increased before staying on in the closing stages.